In some places, Rita's flooding is quite bad. However, we're not seeing homes reduced to matchsticks because the storm surge apparently rose rather gently, instead of coming in as a piled-up wall that smashed everything in its path. I imagine the difference is the result of Rita's winds being 20 mph less than Katrina's on landfall. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Rita started dropping from Cat 5 farther away from landfall than Katrina did.
"I was bracing myself for the worst scenario, homes totally torn apart like matchsticks and water reaching almost roof tops."
"However, we're not seeing homes reduced to matchsticks because the storm surge apparently rose rather gently, instead of coming in as a piled-up wall that smashed everything in its path."
..............
Don't know if you've seen this thread or not ... but it is worth a look. The damage IS that bad ...
"Rita Damage to SW Louisiana worse than being reported"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1490933/posts